Stricter anti-smoking laws will be brought before City of Powell River council in 2018 as a result of grassroots persistence. Vancouver Coastal Health tobacco reduction coordinator for Powell River Nathan Jantz initiated the changes and continues to work with city hall to update the rules.
“The voice of the citizen is very powerful in that it specifically led to me to trying to implement some changes in the tobacco bylaw,” said Jantz, “and that is going to have a lasting impact on our community forever.”
In February, south-of-town resident Jo Thomas, who said she rides the Powell River Regional Transit System Route 12 Stillwater bus at least twice per week, wrote a letter to city council asking about bylaws for BC Transit’s bus loop at Town Centre Mall.
Thomas said she rides the bus more frequently in winter and the designated smoking area at the mall is in close proximity to the Stillwater bus stop. Secondhand smoke is harmful to her health when entering and exiting the bus, she added.
“Because I'm an asthmatic, I start coughing right away; I do have a reaction,” said Thomas. The north end of the mall should have no smoking whatsoever, she added.
At a regular meeting in February, council directed staff to send a letter to mall management requesting the smoking area be moved. Management declined, according to councillor Rob Southcott.
After being in contact with Southcott in March, Thomas said she put the matter aside until bringing it up with him again in September.
“This kind of process very often doesn't go quickly,” said Southcott.
The move to change Powell River’s smoking bylaw goes back to November 2016, when Jantz presented to council, encouraging it to increase the restriction on public smoking as it currently exists, according to Southcott.
“Our restrictions on where people can and can't smoke in public are consistent with other coastal communities,” said Southcott.
The move to stronger bylaws determines what is acceptable and does not glamorize the act of smoking, according to Vancouver Coastal Health medical health officer for Powell River Paul Martiquet.
“We are seeing decreasing smoking rates in Powell River, whether it's specifically attributable to no-smoking bylaws, I'd like to say there's a component, but there are other factors as well,” said Martiquet.
Jantz and Southcott said the changes will be brought before council in January.
“It will be stricter than most municipalities and be in line with other leading communities,” said Jantz.
According to Jantz, recommendations include increasing the distance from doorways and air-intake vents of public buildings, including businesses, from six metres to nine metres and no-smoking within six metres of all parks, which encompasses playing fields, Willingdon Beach, walking trails and all public greenspaces.
“That is very common in BC in the major city centres already,” said Jantz.
Another recommendation would ban smoking on all patios, not just on those restricted to ages 19 and over, where smoking is currently allowed.
City clerk Chris Jackson and Jantz confirmed that the city had received inquiries about smoking close to the mall bus stops.
“The technicalities are that it's not illegal for people to be smoking where they are unless it's within six metres of the doorway,” said Jantz.
Jantz added that the current bylaw bans smoking at a bus stop if the stop is enclosed and is suggesting a change.
“I removed that terminology from the bylaw to say it would be any bus stop,” said Jantz, “so you can't smoke within nine metres from any bus stop, whether enclosed or not.”
At least one implication of the change is that the mall could face fines, according to Southcott.
“They would need to move their smoking area and then their security would need to patrol the location,” said Southcott, “and if there were violations and complaints then the mall would be fined by the city. That's where it's headed.”
The current bylaw stipulates that if it is not being enforced, the business responsible is ticketed, not the person.
The city employs two part-time bylaws officers who are responsible for all city bylaw ticketing. If changes to the smoking laws suggested by Jantz are accepted by the city, one of the recommendations could help pay for enforcement through a tobacco-retail licence fee.
“This is a common thing across Canada, but this would be a first in BC,” said Jantz. “Any tobacco retailer in Powell River would have an annual licence fee to sell tobacco and that money could go toward bylaw enforcement and youth prevention, two areas where the money typically goes in other municipalities.”
Fees range from $200 to a $1,000 per year, according to Jantz.
Martiquet said he sees the fee recommendations as a positive step.
“It's an interesting concept and I would support it if it has the role of decreasing access to tobacco,” said Martiquet.
Jackson said when he brings the bylaw forward, he will be asking council about an enforcement policy. A solution might be to collapse a number of different bylaws, including nuisance, animal control, property maintenance and smoking into what Jackson called a “good neighbour bylaw.”
“Rather than doing eight different reviews over time, let's just take a lot of these bylaws and collapse them into one if we can,” said Jackson. “Then we'll have one rather than eight that we need to enforce.”
